STARKVILLE – Ben Howland said there are two major focal points, among others, for Mississippi State men’s basketball this season: shooting and contribution from freshmen.

Both were on display in the No. 19 Bulldogs 88-57 exhibition game victory over Georgia Southwestern State on Sunday afternoon. Mississippi State lit it up from beyond the arc at Humphrey Coliseum, and two freshmen contributed in many facets of the game.

Freshmen forwards Reggie Perry and Robert Woodard were all over it early on. The two combined to score 13 consecutive points – nine of which came on three’s – to put State on top 30-5 late in the first half.

“Those guys are going to be important mainstays,” Howland said. “Part of the reason is that you look at Robert and Reggie, I haven’t seen many freshmen that look like that. They don’t look like your normal freshmen. They have men’s bodies right now. They’ve been blessed and have good genes. Good Bulldog genes.”

Perry is listed at 6-foot-10, 245 pounds. Woodard is 6-foot-7 and 230. They are both versatile athletes who can play multiple positions on the court, which gives Howland flexibility to create many different lineup combinations.

When they’re on the floor together, Woodard plays small forward and Perry plays power forward. Perry can also play center, but he prefers stretching the floor at forward like he did against the Hurricanes.

Perry drained his only three-point attempt of the night and went 5-of-7 from the floor in total to finish with 12 points. His first performance in maroon and white gave fans glimpses of what could be to come for years at The Hump.

“I was a little nervous before the game, there being a crowd there for the first time,” Perry said. “But when you start playing, it just all goes away.”

Woodard had 10 points himself. While he wasn’t as efficient from the field (4-for-9), he made 2-of-3 shots from three. Howland said Perry and Woodard are the sixth and seventh options, in no particular order, when it comes to taking three pointers.

Howland said Woodard’s shot has totally transformed from when Mississippi State recruited him out of Columbus High School. Woodard displayed his “really fine looking jump shot” on back-to-back possessions in the first half when he sunk his two threes.

"It felt good seeing the ball go through the net for the first time at The Hump," Woodard said. "It feels good to get in the flow of things."

Perry, meanwhile, was in the gym at 7:45 a.m. Saturday morning to work on his jumper. The Dogs are putting the time in, and they’ve been doing so since the summer.

Howland said it’s exciting to see his players have so much dedication to getting better. Mississippi State will soon find out how much the preparation will help in yielding desired results. The Bulldogs start the regular season at home against Austin Peay at 6:30 p.m. this Friday.